Brassieres



Nov. 10, 1959 J. VERREAULT BRASSIERES Filed Jan. 3, 1956 177V? J. A ena-4w. r

mar/W United States Patent BRASSIERES Joseph Verreault, Quebec, Quebec, Canada,.assignor to lgomilion Corset Company Limited, Quebec, Quebec,

ana a Application January 3, 1956, Serial No. 557,194

4 Claims. (Cl. 128-484) This invention relates to improvements in brassieres.

A particular object of this invention is to provide an improved brassiere construction which affords an adjustable uplifting support of the breasts of the wearer so that the maximum of comfort is obtainable by permitting relatively free movement of portions of the breast pockets in response to body movements.

Another object is to provide a brassiere construction in which the upper portion of the breast pockets is formed of inner and outer panels which are freely movable relative to one another above their common base line and are attached at their upper ends to a tape which is slidable on the end of a shoulder strap to permit relative adjustment between said inner and outer panels in response to various body movements of the wearer.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a brassiere of the character'described in which the inner panel of each breast pocket upper portion has divided sections which are connected at their upper ends to said slidable tape by converging elastic members so that there is provided a three directional uplifting pull exerted by the shoulder strap including a two directional pull on the inner panel through the converging elastic members and an uplifting pull on the outer panel.

The brassiere construction according to the present invention provides a comfortable moulding uplift which is particularly beneficial to the fuller figures in which the heavy or sagging bust normally presents a problem of support. With applicants construction the front band fits snugly about the body of the wearer directly beneath the bust and the breasts are given an upward support by the provision of a reinforcing or stiflening member which extends across the lower regions of the breast pockets. In the case of the fuller breasts, in the conventional type of breast pockets the upper portion of the pockets normally tend to exert a downward and inward pressure on the flesh which has been forced into the upper portion of the pocket by the stiffened lower portion. This downward and inward pressure causes considerable discomfort, particularly in the case of a full bust, and restricts any movement of the flesh to compensate for body movements. In order to overcome these difliculties, applicant has provided the upper portion of the breast pockets with inner and outer panels which are suspended from the shoulder strap in a novel manner so that the inner panel may contain that portion of the breast above the lower breast pocket in suspension, with relative freedom for shifting of the flesh to compensate for body movements and at the same time afiord vertical adjustment of the outer panel in response to vertical shifting of the inner panel.

The above and other objects and features characteristic of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front view of a brassiere embodying my invention.

2,911,975 Patented Nov. 10, 1959 Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view looking at the reverse a side of the brassiere shown in Fig. 1.

7 adjacent marginal edges of said front band and breast pockets by stitching 9.

The front band portion 6 is of substantial width and is concavely curved along its upper edge 10 on either side of a central V-shaped notch 12. stiffening members 13 extend on either side of a vertical centre line 14 from said V-shaped notch 12 to the base of the band portion 6.

The breast pockets each comprise lower and upper portions 15 and 16 respectively. The lower portion 15 which is convexly curved at its lower edge, is secured by stitching to the concavely curved edge of the band portion 6 with adjacent inner margins 18 of said lower portions 15 freely overlying the V-shaped notch 12. The adjacent inner side edges of each lower breast pocketportion are secured to a central vertical panel 20, and the outer side edges are secured to adjacent forward edges of side extensions 8 as indicated at 9. A reinforcing or stiffening member 21 provided with a scalloped upper edge 22, extends across the lower region of said lower breast pocket portion 15 on the inner surface thereof.

The upper breast pocket portion 16 is composed of outer and inner panel members 25 and 26 respectively which are jointly united to the upper edge of the lower breast pocket portion 15 by lines of stitching 27. Outer panel 25 is also united along one side edge to a continuing portion of central vertical panel 20 and along the opposite side edge to the adjacent forward edge of side extension 8 by a continuation of the stitching 9 above the lower pocket portion 15.

The inner panel member 26 consists of two substantially triangular sections 28 having their apices spaced apart to define a V-shaped opening 29 therebetween.

These two triangular sections 28 extend upwardly from,

the base line of the upper breast pocket portion l'fil be r' hind the outer panel 25 and free of direct engagem nt therewith. Two elastic tapes 30 each have one end ecured to the apex 31 of one of the triangular sections 28 and converge above V-shaped opening 29 with their other ends secured to overlapping relation to each other to one end of a third tape 32 as indicated at 33. 32 is arranged to slide freely through a loop 35 in a buckle 34 and has its other end 36 secured to the upper edge of outer panel member 25. The buckle 34- is secured to the front end of a shoulder strap 37 which is secured at its rear end to one of the side extensions 8 in any suitable manner.

From the above described construction it will be appreciated that the lower breast pocket portion 15, with its stiffening member 21, provides an upward pressure on the under side of the breast of the wearer. With this upward pressure the single upper breast pocket portion of conventional brassieres tends to inflict a downward and confining pressure on the top portion of the uplifted breast causing considerable discomfort to the wearer during body movements.

The outer and inner panel members 25 and 26 according to my invention are suspended from the front end of the shoulder strap 37 in such a manner as to provide a triple uplifting support. The two triangular sections 28, having flexible suspension from the freely sliding tape Tape 32 of the shoulder strap 37 by means of the elastic tapes 30, serve to hold the upwardly supported bust in place, allowing shifting of the flesh from side to side during body movement by reason of the flexibility of the triangular sections. At the same time the free sliding action of tape 32 adjusts the outer panel member 25 according to the stress applied on tape 32 by the inner panel member 26 in response to the various movements of the wearer.

What I claim is:

1. In a brassiere, a body encircling band including a front diaphragm engaging band of substantial width to flatly engage the front portion of the body below the bust, and side extensions secured to adjacent outer sides of said front band section to encircle the sides and rear of the body, a pair of breast pockets each including upper and lower portions conjointly serving to enclose the bust, each lower pocket portion being secured along its lower edge to the upper edge of said front band section, each upper pocket portion being secured along its lower edge to the upper edge of a complementary lower pocket section, means securing the inner side edges of said upper and lower pocket portions of one pocket to the adjacent inner side edges of said upper and lower pocket portions of the other pocket in spaced relation to the central portion of said front band, means also securing the outer side edges of said upper and lower pocket portions to adjacent sides of said side extensions, said upper pocket portion of each pocket also including an inner panel member having its lower edge secured adjacent the lower edge of said upper pocket portion along the upper edge of the corresponding lower pocket portion but otherwise free of direct attachment to the sides of said breast pocket, a pair of shoulder straps each connected at one end to one of said extensions and having its free end terminating above an adjacent breast pocket, a slotted buckle carried by the free end of said shoulder strap, and a tape mounted for free sliding movement through a slot in said buckle and having one end secured to the upper end of said upper pocket portion and the other end secured to the upper end of said inner panel member of the corresponding breast pocket.

2. A brassiere as set forth in claim 1, in which said first mentioned means includes a central vertical panel to which the said adjacent side edges of said breast pockets are secured, said vertical panel being free of attachment to said front panel.

3. A brassiere as set forth in claim 1, including elastic expansible means interposed between said tape and the upper end of said inner panel member.

4. A brassiere as set forth in claim 1, in which said inner panel member of the upper breast pocket portion comprises two substantially triangular sections having their apices spaced apart to define a V-shaped opening therebetween, said triangular sections being free of attachment between their bases and apices, an expansible tape extending from the apex of each triangular section to converge on the end of said freely sliding tape remote from the upper pocket portion, and means for securing the converging ends of said expansible tapes to said freely sliding tape.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,400,499 Gerace May 21, 1946 2,482,255 Florsheim Sept. 20, 1949 2,497,324 Schenkman Feb. 14, 1950 2,616,083 El Juri Nov. 4, 1952 2,734,193 Croxall Feb. 14, 1956 2,802,213 Rosenthal Aug. 13, 1957 

